The Townships

By Christopher Miller

This week we’ve come to Chapman Township, in the western portion of Clinton County. Gee – I didn’t think I would still be writing these pieces this clear into June. It was my original hope that this series would have been something to help me pass the time with the “dead of winter,” but here I am, still telling the forgotten tales of our townships with only two more to go after Chapman. Let’s dive in.

Chapman Township was cut and chopped away from other larger pieces along the way, particularly Lycoming County, and then moved hands into Clinton County when eventually other townships were formed from the landmass of Chapman.

The township first voted on division in 1875 when Commissioners were appointed to examine and report on the matter of dividing the township, and then giving it to the people to put it to a general vote. Portions were also carved away in 1855 and given to form Noyes and Grugan Townships. But…it was originally (thought to be) founded in 1819. More on that later!

Chapman is still a rather large township within the county being about eight miles wide and 12 miles long and being covered with heavy growths of timber such as pine, oak, and hemlock.

The West Branch flows through the southern part of the township and receives the waters of several streams, most particularly Young Woman’s Creek.

There are many legends and stories told about the derivation of the name “Young Woman’s Creek.” The story of a body of a scalped young woman that was found in the creek, a young woman could have been killed and her body dumped in the creek to float downstream, but they all tend to have the underlying theme that there was a body of a young woman somewhere in the creek. It was also the scene of a ghost story to be told around your camp fire, if you so happen to live (or are building) a home near the creek.

“If Indians would camp there overnight, her ghost would appear gliding over the surface of the stream, and about the camp,” a legend says.

Chapman Township is home to numerous mountain peaks and scenic vistas, a drive on almost any dirt road will show you some of her greatness. “Many of the mountain peaks of this township are grand and lofty, especially those bordering on the river some of which reach a height of twelve or fourteen hundred feet; the one opposite the mouth of Young Woman’s Creek towering fourteen hundred and twenty feet.”

“In no place has she (nature) displayed her creative powers in grander attractiveness than in the picturesquely beautiful verdure-covered hills of this region.”

The first settlement in the region is a bit unclear, but sources tell that it was around Young Woman’s Creek during the Revolutionary War when information was obtained outlining a “clearing of a few acres” being made at the mouth of Young Woman’s Creek previous to 1780.

Tracts of land were bought and sold over the years following the war, one document of which supposedly having the signature of Benjamin Franklin, Supreme Executive Council.

The earliest pioneers of the area had their fair share of stories to tell from the woods. One of which was of a hunter who was attacked by a large buck that would have killed the man by the thrusts of the buck’s horns had it not been for a hunter nearby who dispatched the buck and rescued the man from a certain death. Bears and panthers were also common sights back in the day, as they are now though I do not think panthers have been seen in the county in well over 100 or more years.

One thing was certain of the early days of Chapman Township – the residents surely knew how to eat well.
“For as a rule they have an abundance of substantial and wholesome, though plain food…there was no region of country that afforded a greater abundance of all kinds of game,” said Historical View of Clinton County. “Settlers were capable of producing sufficient wheat, rye, corn, potatoes, etc. for the support of a large family, and the land first settled upon along the West Branch was especially adapted to the growth of these crops.”

For the people living in the newly settled areas, remote from stores experienced the most inconvenience in obtaining supplies of groceries and dry goods, but trips to the nearest town were made seasonally when merchandise was purchased to last until the next trip to town. Certain luxuries, such as coffee and tea were “gotten along without” until a stock could be purchased.

Now as you may have heard in the past, Chapman Township has a very interesting history of being the birthplace of voter fraud. In 1837, In an effort to re-elect Joseph Ritner, Thaddeus Stevens came to town to take advantage of the will of laborers on the West Branch division of the Pennsylvania canal by having the workmen “vote early and often.” This early form of fraud was also called “ballot box stuffing. At this time, the township only had about 50 legal voters, but polled over 700 votes for Joseph Ritner.

Thankfully, schools today teach the value of civics, voting, and government. Back then, the early schools of the township, “were in good operation eight months in the year, and the inhabitants show evidences of intelligence beyond that possessed by the people of many country places.”

The population of Chapman in 1850 was 541; in 1860, 731; and in 1870, 1301.

Renovo Borough cannot be overlooked as it is situated within the limits of Chapman Township and was first settled in the 1820s. Lots were laid out and sold in 25 feet by 125 feet in size and were rapidly sold off at prices ranging from $100 to $1,500 each. Perhaps if I choose to write about the Boroughs of Clinton County next I will cover Renovo more in depth.

All of this information, but one question was never answered: who is Chapman Township named after?
It was named in honor of an almost-impeached Judge Seth Chapman who was born in 1771 and sat on the bench until 1833. “Judge Chapman, although talented, became very slothful and neglected his judicial business to such an extent that articles of impeachment were preferred against him…was tried and acquitted, and resigned after serving on the bench for 22 years.

And now to address the issue brought forward earlier. Yes, Chapman Township was founded in 1819, but it was not legally incorporated until…2010. Chapman was 1 of 6 townships in the state that was never incorporated due to a fluke-finding in Harrisburg which changed that. Oh, and Bloomsburg is the only “town” in Pennsylvania.